Translate

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

ZombieLand 40k

In the future there is only WAR.... and Zombies. Zombieland teaches us so many life lessons that can be useful to us in real life both when surviving a zombie holocaust and possibly just getting through Monday depending on who you work with. Let's take a moment to apply some of this great knowledge to the tabletop.

RULE # 1 Cardio

Yes the undead doesn't need to catch its breathe, so your ability to get around is important. This is just as true on the tabletop because while they say Mech is King I would argue that mobility is Queen. Your ability to get your units to places they need to go is vastly important and something you should always be considering when list building and DEPLOYMENT. I will remind you that 40k doesn't have a nice public transit or bus system its up to you as a general to get your troops to places they need to go. Your ability to react to the enemy and to how the battle plays out will always play a huge role on the tabletop. This effects your units threat range, and overall all effectiveness. After all I doesn't matter how many points you spent on your Deathstar unit if they can't Reliably reach the enemy just like it doesn't matter how fragile my gretchin are if you will never actually be able to reach out and touch them.

RULE # 2 The Double TAP

The premise is so simple yet so often over looked no reason not to make sure that the zombie is dead just in case. It just makes things easier down the line if you don't have any surprises. We apply this to 40k with the term Focus Fire. While you may always be practicing Target priority to use with your Focus Fire so often I see people who don't completely wipe out a unit and move on to next unit. More often than not it so much more important to kill a unit out right in 5th edition. Don't expect them to run every time and don't take unneeded chance that the unit is no longer a threat or going to be very effective. First off this is a Dice game and the fact that he can still do something with the unit means you still need to deal with it. He may run that thing into cover and go to ground holding the game winning objective later because you couldn't be bothered to "Double tap" away the last two men in the unit. He might get one last luck shot that wrecks a vehicle you need. He may now just use that unit to assault or buy himself some time for another unit. Take away his options and give him less to work with.

Rule # 3 Beware Bathrooms

Now I could easily turn this into paragraph of jokes about game store bathroom's. However again the premise is simple here. We all need to use a bathroom and so zombies can wait there or go looking there. We apply this to the objectives in the game. WE ALL NEED to be next to the objectives at some point in the game to win. Maybe not all of them but at least some of them. I can keep you off of as many as I want but I still need to hold one or it doesn't matter. Always keep this in mind while playing. Remember play the mission!!! No matter how the dice are falling keep your eye on the mission in those final game turns the best generals can often times turn what looks like a loss into a win using this concept. Also remember you don't need to hold the objectives until the end of the game its not needed to camp them from turn 2. You "can" do this and there are reasons to do this depending on your army. Just remember you have options and unless its a tourney and your running out of time the game doesn't end until at least turn 5.

Rule # 17 Don't be a hero

There are so many of these rules and I won't go through them all. (Although I can pretty easily tie them all into the game) I want to leave you guys with this rule though as it actually changes in the movie. This is a great rule since it highlights that there is no solid always must do choice. As a General you are the armies strong point, you will hear people say time and time again its not the list or the armies that make the top tables its the players. This is amazingly true and really highlights that the army list you brought is nothing more than your toolbox. Don't rely on the list to win games for you, YOU have to win games. (don't be lazy lol ) Just like in the movie there are times you have to make the tough calls and by assessing the situation of what's going on you need to decide the best times to hang back, charge forward, or sacrifice a unit. If you are playing the army on autopilot you are going to get autopilot results. Take some risks make some choices even if you lose it will make you a better general in the long run.

Again there are so many important things you could take away from this movie. (Don't play zombie related practical jokes during a Zombie apocalypse.) The rules can almost all be applied to the 40k tabletop also. The game is ever changing and no matter if your in it for the competitiveness side, or the hobby side your always learning and there is always room to get better. I encourage you to always push and challenge yourself. Just like in Zombieland you can always grow as a gamer. Also remember that in real life the hot girl has a 50/50 shot she might be crazy and or try to kill you. Although she may not do so for reasons as obvious as turning into the hungry undead. There are worse ways to go of course so again I leave the choice up to you.

Like what you see? Enjoy an article? Having fun? Help us grow!!! Tell a friend, follow us on facebook or blogger. Either way come back and visit and thanks for stopping by.

About Me

You may know Drkmorals from such sites as MWC, FTW, STC, and now 40k Global. His personal site is Emperor's Codex. All these places he randomly spills 40k nonsense and tries to impact the community in a positive manner.